The rain had stopped falling and only the earthy scent from the fresh rainfall had remained. The bushes hum with life, toads coming out to feed on smaller insects. The sun broke through the cracks in the clouds, lighting up the path into Hallow Grove.

She had once heard a tale of olden witches tying particular herbs together to stop demons from possessing the body. Primrose’s contact with demons in her world was pretty much non-existent since the veil was always strong. Here, in this world, the veil was weakened tremendously in a place she was about to traverse.

Primrose’s lips were pressed in a thin line as she grimly looked at the forest before her. “How can we protect ourselves from demonic possession?” Primrose asked feeling ambivalent.

“Are you scared?” William countered, looking at her critically before the faerie deal made him answer. “The only way to 100% be protected from demonic possession is either by making a pact with a demon or faerie. So, my fair Rose, you should be protected from possession.”

Primrose felt troubled and glanced at the bundle of herbs tied to her bag strap. She wasn’t a Fae Witch any more, instead, she became a Cursed Fae Witch. She had broken the pact and the faerie she was contracted to, cursed her for breaking the pact. She could only hope that the tale told her was true and the bundle of herbs would work.

She turned glanced at William from the corner of her eye and found him staring at her. “Let’s go,” Primrose informed the warlock before walking down the dirt path.

Anastasia fluttered her wings before flying over to her master from her perch on the mushroom as it shrunk back to its normal size before disappearing. The familiar landed on her master’s shoulder which earned her a ghost of a smile.

William chuckled deeply before walking to match her stride, his blue eyes twinkling with mischievousness. “To think the great Primrose Willis is afraid of demons.” He said, his tone mocking.

The fae witch flinched at his usage of her full name before looking at him with a grim look. “What-” She started but was interrupted by William’s continued speech.

“Being apart of magical history as one of the oldest witches, you’re not what I exactly imagined. You were said to have disappeared completely and it was my life’s goal to find you, even if you were already dead. But when I found you I expected to find a flowery, ditzy, and happy witch. Instead, I found a cold, unemotional, and calculated witch.”

Primrose processed the information she had just heard and looked away. “So, the Primrose of this world disappeared...” She thought grimly.

The Primrose of this world disappeared without a trace. She could admit it was something she had thought about a few times but she could never go through with it. Sure, she was a solitudinarian but she still had some interaction with other magical creatures from time to time. Nevertheless, she couldn’t come to a conclusion without learning more.

“Why,” She paused, hesitation emanating from her body language, “did you want to find me?”

“Magical Research, of course.” William ardently exclaimed. “Though I’m a killer at heart when I have an interest in something or someone, I won’t stop until I have them completely figured out. You were such an enigma in the magical communities. The only witch who made a pact with a faerie suddenly disappeared for centuries and the only person who knew about you was pretty tight-lipped for many years.”

Primrose froze, wearing an aggrieved expression. “You knew?” Primrose frankly said.

William smirked. “Knew that the woman you’re looking for was your mentor?” He asked coyly, in a teasing manner. “Yes, it’s well-known thanks to your mentor.”

“Ex.” She restrained herself, pushing down her anger.

“Trouble in paradise I see...my fair Rose” William playfully said, his blue eyes gleaming with curiosity.

“Stop talking and don’t call me that.” She replied, ignoring him and allowing herself to fully take in the mysterious forest that surrounded her.

The forest was vast, foggy, and diverse. Its canopy was contested by massive birch, chestnut, and cedar trees with the occasional beam of sunlight that made its way through the lush leaves. The stray beams of sunlight allowed for a plethora of sprouts to use the rich grounds below and flourish.

Curving tree limbs suspended from the occasional tree, and a range of flowers, which claimed quiet corners, added a colorful variety to the landscape. The occasional crunching of dead leaves that they stepped on sounded extremely loud in the otherwise quiet forest.

She felt uneasy in the beautiful forest that gave off an unnatural and mysterious aura. She felt a warmth on her shoulder and glanced at the butterfly who was comforting her. “Thank you, Anastasia.” She whispered, so only the familiar could hear.

“I’ve been meaning to ask.” William suddenly said.

Primrose rolled her eyes and looked at him. “What?” She asked frustrated by his chatty nature.

“Why choose a butterfly as a familiar?” He implored, observing the familiar. “Most witches or warlocks choose Owls, Snakes, Crows or Cats. They’re all useful to some extent and yet you choose a butterfly. Why?”

Primrose yielded. “Anastasia is different.” She answered truthfully, looking at her familiar with endearing eyes.

His eyes widen a fraction as the look in her eyes caught him unawares. He didn’t know she could make such a tender expression and towards her familiar no less. The warlock became pensive, looking away from the witch who will probably keep surprising him.

Primrose, not privy to his thoughts, noticed his silence and felt elated. The pair walked down the dirt path in silence before coming to a crossroads. She looked down each path which was heavy with fog, leaving them unable to see any further.

“Which way do we go?” She asked without looking at the man beside her.

William licked his lips as a mysterious smile formed. “Right.” He replied before walking down the right path.

Primrose narrowed her eyes, hypercritical of his choice. She closed her eyes, feeling for any spikes of magic but found none. Reluctant, she followed him down the right path with trepidation.

The faerie deal can compel you to uphold your deal but what he didn’t know was that she could make the compulsion stronger with the right amount of intent. Without the right intent, he could do what he wanted but breaking the deal could still be devastating.

They walked silently through the thick fog, making sure to keep on the dirt path without veering off. Then, William suddenly stopped, and she ran into his hardback. She took a step backward and glared at the man in front of her.

“Why did you stop?” She asked angrily.

He held up a hand. “Smell.” He said, looking straight ahead with excitement.

The stench of blood hovered in the air, leaving her with a dreadful feeling. Clutching her fists tightly, she moved forward. “Let’s go.” She said icily before walking past William.

“I suggest we be careful, Rose,” William warned with a smile on his face. “We don’t know what we may come across.”

“Anastasia.” She said without giving instructions. However, the butterfly clearly understood Primrose and flew off into the canopy with fluttering blue wings.

Voices could be heard nearer and nearer and they were almost like ghostly whispers to her ears. As the duo got closer, she finds a carriage with six people walking aimlessly and robotically while whispering something under their breath.

“They’re humans that were possessed.” William laughed, “Rather idiotic to come through this forest without magical protec-oh wait, they want to kill magical creatures.”

William raised his hand to his mouth and bit into it viciously. Blood poured from between his lips but he didn’t care. He raised his hand, ready to kill them but was stopped by Primrose.

“I thought we made a deal.” She asked while looking at the people. “No unnecessary killing.”

William cursed, looking at her resentfully. “There’s no other way to remove the demons from their bodies unless you have holy water from the temple?

“I might be able to-”

Suddenly, a voice interrupted Primrose in mid-sentence.

It was a woman in an old brown dress with blood splatters. Her hair was haphazardly thrown into a bun and her skin was extremely pales with dark blotches decorating her face. She crookedly walked towards them, her arms bent in awkward positions and her head bent to the side.

“I…..need...” she whispered, showing her yellowish teeth.

Primrose took a step backward, the hairs on her neck standing up and summoned magic to her hands. Her hands dazzled with green lights at her side as she sensed the danger from the woman.

The woman took two jerky steps forward. “I…….need….your...”

“Let’s just kill them all, Rose,” William said in an enthusiastic tone.

“I….need your...BODY!” The woman screamed unnaturally before rushing towards her.